Took me eight loops to save the world. I kept playing because I felt that there was so much more in the world on offer, and there was. I had saved the world, but had I *seen* the world? The city of beginnings is only a small facet of a larger picture, and the enemy not as you would expect.
20 loops to finish the damn book, lol!
One thing though. If you do get to loop in the company of someone else, why not have them loop too? Seems like an exponential level of tracking, I suppose?
I actually was able to romance Myka and save Suzette, so it is possible!! And even if I loved the the world version with Jo and Suzette, I'm very happy with my route with Myka as well!
This was amazing??? I've played it before, and this second playthrough holds up. I ended up accidentally romancing Myka on my last life, but it felt really correct even though I hadn't been doing it on purpose. I think my first time I went for Jo? I still want to go for Esteban and Suzette eventually, too (Gemma is great but has killed me like, a lot).
I'm curious, is there a MC/Jo/Suzette end? I noticed those characters can hang out as a trio an awful lot, but I've never managed to thread the needle on it.
this game made me cry. like badly lmfao. i believe i was on life 17 when i saved the world, but went back for 18th to get with esteban. suzette is happy, everyone is happy. i go out to visit everyone out of town, and seeing mc happy after how exhausted she was for so many lives make me so happy and just wow,
My poor friends, my poor Estevan, my poor Jo, my dearest Micah.
I loved every single one of them in many ways
I felt my very own sanity going down with my MC mind, When i talked to the characters and they didn't knew me, was heartbreaking.
That's a wonderful game and you're one of my dearest authors, This made me taste billions of lifetimes at once, and gosh I loved it so much, i love it, i love it, i love it, even if it got into down sometimes
The options where MC just accepts death or spend it with a loved one wrenched me good, The fact that we help Esteban paint again is amazing, truly, though i regret i couldn't stay with him in the time i got to "stay" i was too afraid to go back again
It took me 13 lives to stay! I was so connected to the character I wanted to figure it all out with as little do-overs as possible huhu. It tugged at my heart when I read new additions pertaining to the exhaustion of having lived so much. I’m so happy with the epilogue. The character deserves the slow, easy, quiet life for sure.
IM CRYING im in my 25th run and i'm so close, I just dont know ow to get the word for protect for the comet T0T and I'm determined to be with Esteban, still an amazing game, I just want everyone to be alive and well LOL
Holy shite it took me 32 lives to reach the end (mainly cause i was taking my time and doing multiple runs that were all basicly the same..) but.. wow that was absolutely fantastic and i absolutely love the option to say "im sorry" at runs that were really close 8/10 game (cause it can get a bit repetitive with it being a time loop and all)
This game is amazing T>T Can anyone tell me how to go with Myka to the lake though? I'm trying to find the word for the gem and I've already rerun so many lives already :'>
If you learn archaic from Mister Pent and then go to the lake, that should do it (let me know if not because that’s a bug!). To get Myka to go to the lake with you, I believe you need to hang with her at the lab instead of going to the ball— you can suggest it then I think, if you tell her about the time loops. But to be honest it’s been years since I wrote this!
Took me 14 lives to beat it, but what a fantastic ride it was. I went into it knowing nothing and really enjoyed it. The only criticism I have is that after the first few "runs" it gets super repetitive. I ended up just skipping most of the dialogue.
One suggestion would be to allow the player to set a "world state" for that particular run before starting it based on their past lives. So instead of going through all of the dialogue you could essentially "warp" to the next logical step in the story if that makes any sense.
im dropping it at 7 lives due to my detest of repetition, but the end seems close yet far. i feel like the only piece im missing is to hang out with jo more in the next life but... the cost of time doesn't seem like a good exchange XD
this game is so beautiful. i just reached 15 and i havent figured out how to stop the comet yet but i'm so close i can feel it. managing to heal the south with jo and have everyone live only to have everything destroyed is pretty extra heartbreaking. i'm gonna figure it out though. i love this so so much.
As so many others have said, this was such a powerful and moving experience. I'm someone who struggles with indecision, with the fear of regret, with the weight of all the "what-ifs". Being able to live so many lives, to go down all the paths and explore possibilities to my heart's content... and then to see that -- if I didn't give up -- there were truly no wrong answers, that any path could lead to happiness and contentment... it gave me a sense of calm and freedom I haven't felt in a long time. And it made my final choice all the more meaningful.
So thank you for that, and for these beautiful characters, and this fascinating world, and your wonderful words.
And thank you for all the work you did to make it real! I've been writing an IF game in Twine for the first time and it is so. much. work. But you've inspired me!
I'm glad you're living in this time-stream, and that I'm here to appreciate this creation.
For being a first foray into choice-based storytelling, you absolutely knocked it out of the park; the characters are amazing, learning more about the world as i went along was a delight, and it's hard to overstate how much i enjoyed the experience.
This game. It-it's so good. I love it, I love how you slowly put things together. It's well written, and very, very nice. Good job! Wasn't expecting to feel sad that I completed it, but I do feel sad. Things link together well and I enjoyed it.
I played this about a year ago and I lost my progress- which is fine but like, I was looking so hard for this game and I'm so glad I found it again, the storytelling is really amazing
Hey! I really love the game and i was replaying it, and spoilers for anyone who hasnt played yet, however after the first time, despite knowing archaiccccc and bringing myka to the bottom of the lake i cant find the lion statue there anymore nor the word for 'protect'. ive gone through it several time so just letting you know in case its a bug, or im just doing something wrong
started playing this during some downtime at work (bad idea) and am currently on my 30th playthrough (pls don’t judge me)
i’ve loved so many of the endings i’ve gotten (esteban and len, my beloveds) but i have still not managed to stop the comet. tried a lot of the different paths (all 3 areas of study, methods of stealing the gems) and i’ve managed to save suzette and the south and avoid the war but i cannot figure out the gosh darn comet! would love to be able to accomplish all that and still end up with soft artist esteban at the end
i feel like consistently, if someone posts on here that they can’t figure out how to get their perfect ending—their very next loop they figure it out. so my hot take is to post and you’ll figure it out!
I played this game 9 times over before i finally decided to stay, and although the ending was beautiful, I enjoyed the game so much that I immediately wished I could keep playing. The writing and characters are both gorgeous (I think Esteban and Suzette were my favorites) and I'm so impressed that you managed to create such a natural storyline and still allow the player's choices to have an impact on what follows. Thank you for creating this wonderful game!
i've played this game on and off again (without saving. yes it was painful.) and i've amassed what must be a solid... 90+ lives? and like even though i've stayed a few times, I finally got what I think is the best ending. spoilers from here on out besties.
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bae I'm just so emotional over getting to befriend everyone. i got the ending where I became besties w/jo and suzette AFTER encouraging esteban to get back into painting while we stole the gem. and then jo is so brilliant. i literally had no idea that jo would be able to mastermind a way for us to save suzette (because I forgot how to discover suzette's spell and steal her research early on!!!! so every "Good" ending still ended with suzette dying and that's legit unacceptable) AND heal the lands AAAAND RETURN TO ELAIA. bro I'm just so.... MC deserves this.... they deserve this ending. every single "fuck it" life was just gorgeous and I got so so sad making bad decisions but justifying them with "please I just want to get through this. mc is tired. I'm tired." and like I'm such a hoe for angst, so what I really love is the concept of mc regretting their poor decisions. i love the concept of mc just saving the world, staying, and having this unresolved angst over all the people they didn't save in their previous lives. anyways, esteban is mi amor and I'm so fucking happy that i was able to talk to everyone at that party. that suzette and teresa reach their happy ending, that myka's as brilliant and alive as she deserves, and that ossani is as free as she likes.
when i say i love worldbuilding done well, this is what i mean. I'm invested in this story like nothing else and your way of communicating this world was just gorgeous. there's nothing quite like it. thank you so much for sharing. i can't believe i happened to stumble upon it in one of your fics. so grateful. so so grateful thank you i love this and you have a wonderful day, month, and year, and life. goodness. heart broken successfully and beautifully.
this game is so amazing, i dont even have words to express how engaging it was! i spent hours playing and playing just to try to get somewhere and then after twenty-something finals i made it what is, for now, the ending that i liked the most!!
I certainly didn't get all of the endings, I'm sure, but I got many - around twenty four or so - and the hours spent doing so were certainly worthwhile. I liked Esteban at first but Jo ended up absolutely stealing my heart.
Overall, it's an intriguing game with choices that genuinely feel like they have an impact on what follows. Thank you for giving us this experience. <3
I adore Jo so much, and am so glad when they sneak up on people’s adventures. I’m so glad the choices mattered to you— I wanted to build a story where you could change the world.
I loved playing this game. l loved the frustation that it made me feel every single time i died because it made reaching my stay extremely statisfying. Even if I had to restart over 16 times before deciding to stay because the end was really worth it. :)
I have to admit that I didn't fully read the game description before hitting play so that reset genuinely startled me after Jo's last loop. Me AND my character out here going ???????????? LMAO
I think I made it to 10 loops before I finally decided to stay. Maybe 11? I don't think I saw every possible iteration of the timeline (a combination of an unwillingness to be callous and a desire to make sure everyone is if not happy then at the very least alive) but I unlocked a significant portion of the lore, so I'm happy with it.
I surprisingly ended up at the Epilogue with Esteban! Not sure how that happened: one moment we're vandalizing public property and the next we're happily living together. He's so cute... I love me a soldier boy with a sentimental soul. <3
The game is wonderful. It genuinely made me emotional and I ended up falling in love with ALL the characters on all the routes, minor or not. (Alive or not.) I can't imagine what it must feel like for the main character to spend their entire lives in love with someone, creating a home together, and when the comet hits realizing that the only proof that those years ever happened are the memories that you hold. I don't think I'd be able to stay sane, after that. I think that's why I decided to end the loops so quickly: my character was starting to fray at the seams.
Explains Jo at the start, though. I hope they managed to find some peace after their loop. (Or maybe Jo remembers, after a while? In the History route they mention feeling like they've seen things before so...)
I never did end up going south! I stopped to grab a snack and ended up finding a new family and a cat. Something for another loop, perhaps? I did save just before I decided to stay, after all. ;)
Thank you for sharing your story! I love hearing about the paths and choices people take through Stay?. And I love thinking about Jo at the start, and all the things that kid has been through… feeling more and more camaraderie with their echo through the story is one of my favorite things.
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Took me eight loops to save the world. I kept playing because I felt that there was so much more in the world on offer, and there was. I had saved the world, but had I *seen* the world? The city of beginnings is only a small facet of a larger picture, and the enemy not as you would expect.
20 loops to finish the damn book, lol!
One thing though. If you do get to loop in the company of someone else, why not have them loop too? Seems like an exponential level of tracking, I suppose?
Got through the Myka end in eight loops. The worldbuilding is really neat and I quite enjoyed the mechanics.
Wow, this was amazing! I definitely didn't expect this in the beginning.
(spoilers)
I got really frustrated around the 15th cycle, I was stuck. After a break I had an epiphany though, and got it done by the 18th!
After that I've been trying to find a way to both save Suzette and romance Myka. I guess it's just not possible.
The MC, Jo and Suzette trio is really cute, but if I have to choose it'll always be my beloved Myka.
So anyway, great game! Definitely one of my favorites. I loved figuring out this puzzle. Thanks for making it available for free!
I actually was able to romance Myka and save Suzette, so it is possible!!
And even if I loved the the world version with Jo and Suzette, I'm very happy with my route with Myka as well!
This was amazing??? I've played it before, and this second playthrough holds up. I ended up accidentally romancing Myka on my last life, but it felt really correct even though I hadn't been doing it on purpose. I think my first time I went for Jo? I still want to go for Esteban and Suzette eventually, too (Gemma is great but has killed me like, a lot).
I'm curious, is there a MC/Jo/Suzette end? I noticed those characters can hang out as a trio an awful lot, but I've never managed to thread the needle on it.
This is a shockingly heartbreakingly good game. It’s so hard saving everyone and not causing any disasters in the process!
It’s positively wonderful, though I’ve not yet unlocked the puzzle of how to prevent the war and save everyone :-(
WTF I THOUGHT I HAD SOMETHING WITH ESTEBAN
Those sensitive artist types…
yeahhh😫😫
This game is absolutely amazing but i'm really clueless on how to saved the world lol, but the game is really good! I'm down bad for esteban baby <3
He’s a good lad!
this game made me cry. like badly lmfao. i believe i was on life 17 when i saved the world, but went back for 18th to get with esteban. suzette is happy, everyone is happy. i go out to visit everyone out of town, and seeing mc happy after how exhausted she was for so many lives make me so happy and just wow,
Ah, I’m so glad!!
I saved the world on my 6th life, but my mad gal went back again. She's gonna get her perfect ending.
She can do it!
I DID I DID IT I DID IT I DID IT
Just took me 28 lifes!!!!
My poor friends, my poor Estevan, my poor Jo, my dearest Micah.
I loved every single one of them in many ways
I felt my very own sanity going down with my MC mind, When i talked to the characters and they didn't knew me, was heartbreaking.
That's a wonderful game and you're one of my dearest authors, This made me taste billions of lifetimes at once, and gosh I loved it so much, i love it, i love it, i love it, even if it got into down sometimes
The options where MC just accepts death or spend it with a loved one wrenched me good, The fact that we help Esteban paint again is amazing, truly, though i regret i couldn't stay with him in the time i got to "stay" i was too afraid to go back again
28, very nice!!! Thank you for investing so much into living those lives with the protagonist.
Took me 20 but made it eventually! Absolutely wonderful game and now I'm hooked on checking all of the possible endings. Thank you author! :)
Thank you! 20 is a great run
It took me 13 lives to stay! I was so connected to the character I wanted to figure it all out with as little do-overs as possible huhu. It tugged at my heart when I read new additions pertaining to the exhaustion of having lived so much. I’m so happy with the epilogue. The character deserves the slow, easy, quiet life for sure.
Thank you for the experience(s)!!
I’m so glad it resonated with you!! The protagonist deserves so much peace by the end, yes!
IM CRYING im in my 25th run and i'm so close, I just dont know ow to get the word for protect for the comet T0T and I'm determined to be with Esteban, still an amazing game, I just want everyone to be alive and well LOL
omg omg nvm i did it!! I got to the 'stay' ending IM STILL CRYING this was written so well I love Esteban oml
good job!!!!
I love to telling Myka "I love you", sometimes I explodin dam just for that line.
End with her at beach are already best ending, imho.
Ah, I love that ending!
Holy shite it took me 32 lives to reach the end (mainly cause i was taking my time and doing multiple runs that were all basicly the same..) but.. wow that was absolutely fantastic and i absolutely love the option to say "im sorry" at runs that were really close 8/10 game (cause it can get a bit repetitive with it being a time loop and all)
I FUCKING DID IT WOOO!!!!!!!!! SLAY
S L A Y !
This game is amazing T>T Can anyone tell me how to go with Myka to the lake though? I'm trying to find the word for the gem and I've already rerun so many lives already :'>
If you learn archaic from Mister Pent and then go to the lake, that should do it (let me know if not because that’s a bug!). To get Myka to go to the lake with you, I believe you need to hang with her at the lab instead of going to the ball— you can suggest it then I think, if you tell her about the time loops. But to be honest it’s been years since I wrote this!
when i hang out with her at the lab and tell her about the time loops, the option to take her to the lake never comes up D:
If I’m remembering the intended design right, that sounds like a bug! I’ll see if I can fix that up sometime!
Does anyone know how to find the right word or words for the gem? I'm stuck on it rn.
Take magic again or be friends with Myka and go to the lake with her iirc?
Can I end up staying while still being with any of the "outsiders", like Len and Fezzi? Or is that a no-go?
Afraid not! If you take off for the hills, there’s no path to let you come back and do the comet.
shame that even after you've done the comet, you can't go back to the village :(
I think that’s really fair! If I go back for a bug fix or a v2.0 sometime, I’ll try to pencil that one in. It’s a good end!
I LOVED THIS GAME !! Came here from ao3 .
Thank u for sharing this <3
Ah thank you!!
Took me 14 lives to beat it, but what a fantastic ride it was. I went into it knowing nothing and really enjoyed it. The only criticism I have is that after the first few "runs" it gets super repetitive. I ended up just skipping most of the dialogue.
One suggestion would be to allow the player to set a "world state" for that particular run before starting it based on their past lives. So instead of going through all of the dialogue you could essentially "warp" to the next logical step in the story if that makes any sense.
really neat and cool game
im dropping it at 7 lives due to my detest of repetition, but the end seems close yet far. i feel like the only piece im missing is to hang out with jo more in the next life but... the cost of time doesn't seem like a good exchange XD
17. made it in 17 lives. wonderful game
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it
this game is so beautiful. i just reached 15 and i havent figured out how to stop the comet yet but i'm so close i can feel it. managing to heal the south with jo and have everyone live only to have everything destroyed is pretty extra heartbreaking. i'm gonna figure it out though. i love this so so much.
I hope you found your best ending!
went through 27 lives .
each different from the others.
died so many different ways, and lived so many different lives.
this game made my existential crisis worse, but also gave me perspective.
it made me appreciate my own life .
10/10
Ah I’m so glad, thank you!
As so many others have said, this was such a powerful and moving experience. I'm someone who struggles with indecision, with the fear of regret, with the weight of all the "what-ifs". Being able to live so many lives, to go down all the paths and explore possibilities to my heart's content... and then to see that -- if I didn't give up -- there were truly no wrong answers, that any path could lead to happiness and contentment... it gave me a sense of calm and freedom I haven't felt in a long time. And it made my final choice all the more meaningful.
So thank you for that, and for these beautiful characters, and this fascinating world, and your wonderful words.
And thank you for all the work you did to make it real! I've been writing an IF game in Twine for the first time and it is so. much. work. But you've inspired me!
I'm glad you're living in this time-stream, and that I'm here to appreciate this creation.
Yes, there are no wrong answers! Just lives to live.
I’m glad you’re trying out IF writing, it’s so fun! I’m taking a break to work on my novels but I’m eager to dive back into some IF when I can…
For being a first foray into choice-based storytelling, you absolutely knocked it out of the park; the characters are amazing, learning more about the world as i went along was a delight, and it's hard to overstate how much i enjoyed the experience.
Thanks for making it!
Ah I’m so glad, thank you for playing!
This is INCREDIBLE. I did not expect the range of things that we can do to be this varied. Definitely one of the best out here!
Thank you so much!
This game. It-it's so good. I love it, I love how you slowly put things together. It's well written, and very, very nice. Good job! Wasn't expecting to feel sad that I completed it, but I do feel sad. Things link together well and I enjoyed it.
I’m glad! The “epilogues” section at the end was one of my favorites to write, because I wanted every ending to feel satisfying no matter your path.
:D
I played this about a year ago and I lost my progress- which is fine but like, I was looking so hard for this game and I'm so glad I found it again, the storytelling is really amazing
I’m so glad you enjoyed it— and that you found it again!
I almost gave up but after 24 tries, I finally got the happy ending with EstebanT_T this is so good
Love to see Esteban getting some love <3
Hey! I really love the game and i was replaying it, and spoilers for anyone who hasnt played yet, however after the first time, despite knowing archaiccccc and bringing myka to the bottom of the lake i cant find the lion statue there anymore nor the word for 'protect'. ive gone through it several time so just letting you know in case its a bug, or im just doing something wrong
started playing this during some downtime at work (bad idea) and am currently on my 30th playthrough (pls don’t judge me)
i’ve loved so many of the endings i’ve gotten (esteban and len, my beloveds) but i have still not managed to stop the comet. tried a lot of the different paths (all 3 areas of study, methods of stealing the gems) and i’ve managed to save suzette and the south and avoid the war but i cannot figure out the gosh darn comet! would love to be able to accomplish all that and still end up with soft artist esteban at the end
i feel like consistently, if someone posts on here that they can’t figure out how to get their perfect ending—their very next loop they figure it out. so my hot take is to post and you’ll figure it out!
thanks for such an amazing game!
I’m glad you found your path!!
I played this game 9 times over before i finally decided to stay, and although the ending was beautiful, I enjoyed the game so much that I immediately wished I could keep playing. The writing and characters are both gorgeous (I think Esteban and Suzette were my favorites) and I'm so impressed that you managed to create such a natural storyline and still allow the player's choices to have an impact on what follows. Thank you for creating this wonderful game!
Thank you, I’m so glad! This was my first foray into choice-based storytelling and such a delight to make
i've played this game on and off again (without saving. yes it was painful.) and i've amassed what must be a solid... 90+ lives? and like even though i've stayed a few times, I finally got what I think is the best ending. spoilers from here on out besties.
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-
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bae I'm just so emotional over getting to befriend everyone. i got the ending where I became besties w/jo and suzette AFTER encouraging esteban to get back into painting while we stole the gem. and then jo is so brilliant. i literally had no idea that jo would be able to mastermind a way for us to save suzette (because I forgot how to discover suzette's spell and steal her research early on!!!! so every "Good" ending still ended with suzette dying and that's legit unacceptable) AND heal the lands AAAAND RETURN TO ELAIA. bro I'm just so.... MC deserves this.... they deserve this ending. every single "fuck it" life was just gorgeous and I got so so sad making bad decisions but justifying them with "please I just want to get through this. mc is tired. I'm tired." and like I'm such a hoe for angst, so what I really love is the concept of mc regretting their poor decisions. i love the concept of mc just saving the world, staying, and having this unresolved angst over all the people they didn't save in their previous lives. anyways, esteban is mi amor and I'm so fucking happy that i was able to talk to everyone at that party. that suzette and teresa reach their happy ending, that myka's as brilliant and alive as she deserves, and that ossani is as free as she likes.
when i say i love worldbuilding done well, this is what i mean. I'm invested in this story like nothing else and your way of communicating this world was just gorgeous. there's nothing quite like it. thank you so much for sharing. i can't believe i happened to stumble upon it in one of your fics. so grateful. so so grateful thank you i love this and you have a wonderful day, month, and year, and life. goodness. heart broken successfully and beautifully.
Thank you for sharing your story!! That is such a good ending and I love hearing about people’s adventures in Elaia. I miss this world!
HOW PLS IVE BEEN TRYING TO REACH THIS PERFECT ENDING SO MUCH
this game is so amazing, i dont even have words to express how engaging it was! i spent hours playing and playing just to try to get somewhere and then after twenty-something finals i made it what is, for now, the ending that i liked the most!!
thank you so much for this!! <3
20+, very nice! I’m so glad you enjoyed your adventure and found your ending <3
I certainly didn't get all of the endings, I'm sure, but I got many - around twenty four or so - and the hours spent doing so were certainly worthwhile. I liked Esteban at first but Jo ended up absolutely stealing my heart.
Overall, it's an intriguing game with choices that genuinely feel like they have an impact on what follows. Thank you for giving us this experience. <3
I adore Jo so much, and am so glad when they sneak up on people’s adventures. I’m so glad the choices mattered to you— I wanted to build a story where you could change the world.
I loved playing this game. l loved the frustation that it made me feel every single time i died because it made reaching my stay extremely statisfying. Even if I had to restart over 16 times before deciding to stay because the end was really worth it. :)
Thank you for this wonderful game! <3
You earned that happy ending! Thank you for the review; I really appreciate it <3
I have to admit that I didn't fully read the game description before hitting play so that reset genuinely startled me after Jo's last loop. Me AND my character out here going ???????????? LMAO
I think I made it to 10 loops before I finally decided to stay. Maybe 11? I don't think I saw every possible iteration of the timeline (a combination of an unwillingness to be callous and a desire to make sure everyone is if not happy then at the very least alive) but I unlocked a significant portion of the lore, so I'm happy with it.
I surprisingly ended up at the Epilogue with Esteban! Not sure how that happened: one moment we're vandalizing public property and the next we're happily living together. He's so cute... I love me a soldier boy with a sentimental soul. <3
The game is wonderful. It genuinely made me emotional and I ended up falling in love with ALL the characters on all the routes, minor or not. (Alive or not.) I can't imagine what it must feel like for the main character to spend their entire lives in love with someone, creating a home together, and when the comet hits realizing that the only proof that those years ever happened are the memories that you hold. I don't think I'd be able to stay sane, after that. I think that's why I decided to end the loops so quickly: my character was starting to fray at the seams.
Explains Jo at the start, though. I hope they managed to find some peace after their loop. (Or maybe Jo remembers, after a while? In the History route they mention feeling like they've seen things before so...)
I never did end up going south! I stopped to grab a snack and ended up finding a new family and a cat. Something for another loop, perhaps? I did save just before I decided to stay, after all. ;)
Thank you for sharing your story! I love hearing about the paths and choices people take through Stay?. And I love thinking about Jo at the start, and all the things that kid has been through… feeling more and more camaraderie with their echo through the story is one of my favorite things.